


I will still never kneel!

by WhyYesIamBlonde



Series: Slavery Universe [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Avengers Movies RPF, The Avengers (2012), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Movie Fusion, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Mind Control, Steve Needs a Hug, Torture, Whump Bruce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-11
Updated: 2013-05-24
Packaged: 2017-12-11 11:47:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/798418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhyYesIamBlonde/pseuds/WhyYesIamBlonde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Avengers assemble a bit differently when Steve wakes up in Stark Tower and Bruce is the property of the US Army.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Steve's introduction to his new life

**Author's Note:**

> Used lines from the movie when I could but for the most part this story deviates a lot from the Avengers movie. 
> 
> This story line is not mine. The characters are not mine. I am simply putting a spin on someone else's work.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve learns what has occurred in the last 70 years that will affect him the most.

Steve Rogers

He was cold. There was a lot of noise around him. He just wanted to go back to sleep. He was having the most fantastic dream of being big and strong for once in his life. Let him get back to it. He felt his body being moved, he pushed the guy that was moving him away and fell back into his dream.

Xxx

“Holy Shit!” exclaimed the agent. He was helping to move the frozen body when he felt something move against his chest. It wasn’t a strong push but he jumped back with the shock of the movement. The other agents looked at him questioningly. “He’s alive!”

XXX

The beeping was annoying. It was slow and constant. Steve opened his eyes to find the source. He was in a stiff bed in a white room. There was a machine set up next to the bed that was causing the noise. When Steve moved to take a closer look, he saw a moving line that was going up and down with the beep. There were other wavy lines on different sections of the metal box. The machine was connected to various wires that led to different pads placed on Steve’s body. He started to pull them off when a nurse rushed into the room. At least he thought it was a nurse. Instead of wearing a white dress, she was wearing a light blue pair of pants and matching top. 

“Mr. Rogers, don’t pull that out,” she chastised as she tried to reconnect the machine.

“Where am I?” he asked still taking the leads off.

“In a medical facility in New York.”

Steve was just about to call her on her lie when the door swung open. A man in his early 40s walked through the door wearing a very well tailored black suit. His black hair and goatee was perfectly cut but his eyes looked a little wild. He was obviously tired and the bottle of whiskey and two glasses he was carrying probably wasn’t helping any.

“Leave him alone, will you? He is probably the healthiest man on the planet right now.” The new man said as he gestured for the nurse to leave. Once she did, he plopped himself on the bed next to Steve.

“Hi. Here, hold this,” The man gave Steve a glass and promptly filled it up while refilling his own.

“I can’t get drunk,” was all that Steve could think to say.

“Yeah. Read that in your record. Sucks. Now drink up.” The man downed his shot easily and set himself up for another one.

“What is going on?” Steve still didn’t drink.

“You know? They wanted to do this elaborate hospital setup. Make you think you were still back in the dark ages. I told them that it would only make it worse and that you were too smart for that. They told me that you wouldn’t be able to handle the truth. Luckily for you I always win.”

Steve continued to stare at the man next to him. Either the man didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“So I set you up at Stark Tower. Hope you don't mind. Didn’t really see the point in keeping you too far away from your new home. You’ll love it. I have it all Americanized just right for you. Red, Blue and white everywhere. You’ll even have your own bugle band if that is what you need to wake up every morning. I just need you to let me know.”

“Hold up. Howard built a tower?” Steve knew he wanted to but didn’t get around to it because of the war. “How long was I out?”

“Um, tower yes. Howard no.” The man suddenly looked very uncomfortable. He finished his drink and helped himself to Steve’s.

“What is going on!” 

“Look, you’ve been unconscious for a very long time. That ice kept you frozen but the serum kept you alive. You’ve been asleep for just under 70 years.”

“Oh,” was all that Steve could say for a moment.

“Hey, you going to be okay?”

“Yeah... Yeah. I just... I had a date.”

The man took this moment to refill both of their glasses. This time Steve had no trouble drinking his. If he couldn’t get drunk, he could at least let himself feel the burn of the whiskey as it went down his throat.

“Who are you?” Steve knew that the man looked very familiar but he just couldn’t place him.

“Oh, yeah. I’m Tony. Tony Stark.”

Steve looked in shock for a moment. He never knew that Howard had a son. Oh course, this was the future. Who knows how many children he had since Steve last saw them. Oh, wait. Is he even still alive?

Steve put his hand out. “I guess you already know I’m Steve then.”

Tony looked at his hand for a second before shaking it. “Yep. Now come on Cap. Time to show you the new world!”

Xxx

The elevator ride was fast enough to make Steve’s stomach flop. He was relieved when he was able to get out. The room they entered was huge. It contained a bar, seating, a large black box was secured to one wall and there were doors leading off of it to what looked like a kitchen, office and den. Tony walked into the room and the black box suddenly came to life. It was filled with pictures of people talking about the latest news and events. Steve was amazed at having the movie screen brought into a home like that. Before he could take a closer look Tony started talking.

“Hey JARVIS, change it to music for me will ya?”

“Yes, sir.” Steve jumped at the disembodied robot voice spoke and the box changed to a scene of a jazz band. 

“Oh yeah. JARVIS is an artificial intelligence. He runs the house. Think of him like the thing in the walls that controls everything.” Tony motioned to the music, “more like your thing, right?” Tony was moving around the room. He was starting to look more and more nervous. Steve didn’t know what to say so he just continued to stand and stare. One of the walls was floor to ceiling windows that looked over New York. It had changed so much. He recognized some buildings but others amazed him at their size. The constant flashing lights from signs and street lights filled his eyes. 

“So, you have a room over there,” Tony was pointing down a hall that ran past the kitchen. “Help yourself to any food. Dad told me that you needed more than most people so don’t be shy. Um. If you need anything, you let me know.”

“Why are you doing all of this?” Steve finally asked. He honestly expected to still be in the army. If he was truly back, why would a civilian take him in, even the son of a good friend?

“I sorta had no choice. Look, vodka! Want a drink?” Tony walked over to the bar and started to pour himself a very tall glass before Steve took it out of his hand. 

“I think you may have had enough, Tony.”

“Wow. You telling me what to do. Please don't lose that. It’s just so charming.”

“What is going on,” Steve pressed Tony for answers. “Why am I living here?”

“Um...” Tony looked like he wanted to flee. He took the glass back from Steve and started to sip it. After a few moments he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Look, sit down will you?”

Steve sat at the chair that Tony had motioned to and Tony sat on the couch. Tony continued to drink but this time was taking he much more than a few sips. Finally he took a deep breath and started to talk.

“I really didn’t have a choice. You sort of are my responsibility. You see... You know how they used Stark Industries technology to help you become a super soldier?” Steve nodded for him to continue. His eyes narrowed in confusion. “Well, it turns out that the machines used to make you, well you, were pretty expensive. After inflation and interest, you technically owe us over one hundred and forty million dollars.”

Steve literally felt his jaw fall. He stuttered a bit. He had never heard of that much money in his life. Maybe Howard had access to it but no one else he had ever met would even begin to imagine. Was he honestly expected to pay that back? That was never mentioned in any of the documents he was told to sign and he remembered reading every one.

“Look, Cap. Things changed since you were frozen. There was a big boom after the war when the soldiers came home. People had jobs, kids, a future. But then things started going south again. More and more people were declaring bankruptcy. Crime was on the rise. The prisons could no longer control their populations. Something needed to be done. A bill was passed through congress and the senate. Under very specific terms, slavery was reintroduced into the United States.”

Tony finished his drink and poured himself another one. Steve was having trouble processing what he was being told. “Wait. Why are you telling me this unless...”

Tony cursed and threw his glass against the wall. It shattered as the man ran his hands through his hair again. “I hate this. I don’t want this. Dad knew that the army was going to put a lien against you. You owe them a pretty penny too. Some people still believed that you were still alive and if you came back, they all wanted a piece of you. Before the ink had even dried on the bill, Dad had his lawyers file for ownership of you. He didn’t want you to become a lab rat. Fuck!” Tony walked over to the windows and banged his head lightly against the glass.

“I’m a slave.” Steve’s voice was emotionless. This was too much. Waking up in a new world. Everything he knew had changed and now he lost his freedom in a country that he had given his life to keep free. He didn’t even know that he had stood up but he felt his knees give out from him and he sat down abruptly.

“I looked into freeing you,” Tony continued. “It just turns out that Dad was right and Stark Industries was not the only one that wanted a piece of Captain America. Dad managed to buy out the hospitals that you still owed money to from your sick days but the government wouldn’t give up their share. If I forgive your debt and free you, you would end up in the control of the Army. You really don't want that. You thought being, what did Aunt Peg call it? A trained monkey was tough. You really don’t want to know what they do to their lab rats in today's age. There is no law about treating slaves humanely.” 

At the mention of Peggy's name, Steve felt his body being flooded with emotion. The loss and shock was too much. He sobbed. The great Captain America felt himself shake with grief and anger. Tony didn’t know what to do except place a bottle of whiskey within the man's reach and leave him alone to think about what he had just learned. 

“Um, if you need anything, just ask JARVIS. I’ll be down in my lab. We’ll discuss the rest of this over dinner with Pepper. She is the CEO of Stark Industries and sorta co-owns you. Yeah, see you then.” Tony Stark, the great invincible Iron Man, bolted into the elevator and away from an emotional kid from Brooklyn.

XXX

“Sir, you may want to know that Mister Rogers is currently destroying the penthouse,” JARVIS’s voice rang out over the music that Tony had blaring.

“He’s what?” Tony tossed his screwdriver down onto the bench and started to run towards the elevator. When he reached the penthouse, he looked around at the destruction. The glass tables were smashed. The chairs had been thrown into the television. Every bottle had been taken from the bar and thrown across the room. Even the fifty year old scotch. Steve was standing in the middle. He had his eyes closed and he was flexing his fists. 

“Damn it, Cap! What the hell do you think you are doing?” Tony yelled at the man in front of him.

“Everything is gone,” Steve whispered just loud enough for Tony to hear.

“Ah, crap. I’m no good at this. JARVIS, when is Pepper getting here?” Tony said.

“Miss Potts is expected to arrive within the hour, sir.” JARVIS replied calmly.

“Thank God!” Tony exclaimed. He up-righted a few of the chairs, carefully walking around the broken glass and sat down. 

“You may want to rest for a bit,” Tony said. “That temper tantrum must have taken a lot out of you.”

“Not even winded,” came the reply. 

The two men were silent until some time passed and the elevators opened. Miss Pepper Potts walked out wearing a pink skirt suit, beautifully styled hair and a facial expression that would have made Genghis Khan think twice before attacking her.

“What the heck went on here?” She screamed at Tony. “You decide to throw one of your pity parties again?”

Tony stood up, holding his hands up in reflex. “Wasn’t me this time. Cap here thought we needed some redecorating.”

“You couldn’t wait, could you. Had to open your big mouth and shock the guy without any thought to him.” She came closer and started to poke his chest just above the arc reactor.

“Hey, he was asking questions. I needed to let him know. How is this my fault?”

Miss Potts threw up her hands in frustration. She went over to the man still standing with his eyes closed in the middle of the room. “Mr. Rogers, I’m Miss Potts but you can call me Pepper. I am truly sorry for however that oaf told you the bad news but it’s going to be okay. You’re not in as bad a situation as you may think you are. Please. Come into the dinning room so we can talk.”

Steve nodded and then opened his eyes. He followed the other two into the smaller room and sat at one of the chairs. The room still had enough room to seat ten around the table with plenty of space to walk around those seated. The other two chose seats across from the shocked man.

“Mr. Rogers,” Miss Potts started, “This is not ideal for any of us. We don’t want to own you. If after a while you truly think you would be better off living the rest of your life under the Army's rule just let us know. At any time we will let you go. I personally am just hoping to convince you to stay.”

Steve looked at her eyes. They seemed to be honest. She obviously was uncomfortable with this conversation. He took a moment to think before he calmly opened his mouth. “I still don't understand everything. I was never told that I would owe money. As far as I’m concerned, I paid them back when I stopped Hydra. I am not anyone’s slave.”

“Yeah, well, that seems to be were the law screwed you,” Tony piped in before Pepper could reply. “The papers you signed stated that you were given the serum free and clear but Dad was unable to find a copy of those documents. It seems that when the army filed for ownership they had a different set of papers with them. Dad and Aunt Peg claimed that your signature was forged but no one was able to prove it. Dad thought that his request was going to be denied based on lack of debt but he put them through anyways in case the military pulled something like this.”

“And Howard is always right,” Steve sighed.

“Yeah,” Tony replied. “He was.”

“Was. Well, I guess that answers that question.” Steve ran a hand through his hair. “Is anyone I know still around?” 

This time it was Miss Potts who spoke up. “Miss Carter is currently living in a retirement home in Virginia, there are a couple of the USO ladies around but I am afraid we could not get confirmation on anyone else.”

Steve sighed and let his eyes close again. This was still too much. Peggy was alive but not the dame he remembered. She would be in her 90s now. Did she have a husband, kids? Miss Potts had referred to her as miss so probably not. Was he the reason she never had a family?

“What is going to happen to me?” was all he managed to ask.

“Well,” said Miss Potts. “For starters Tony and I are going to reintroduce you to the world. He has set up some classes for you to take through JARVIS and you probably want to refamiliarize yourself with the city. Unfortunately you are not allowed to leave the tower without an escort until we convince our shareholders that you are not a flight risk but that shouldn't be too hard once time passes.”

“You’ll love it here, Cap. I have all the best toys.” Tony smiled at the other man.

Steve just let his shoulders slump down. “You think the Army would ever free me?”

Tony sighed. “They haven’t freed anyone yet. We are in the middle of a war in the Middle East. A group of terrorists attacked New York a decade ago and we are still trying to stop them. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life fighting in the desert or stuck in a lab trying to recreate the super soldier formula, I suggest you stay here with us.”

“So, what. You going to keep me around as your pet?”

“No,” Pepper said forcefully. “If you wish to stay we would eventually set you up with a job that you agree to. You would earn your keep and a salary. The only difference between your life as a free man and your life now would be that Tony and I are the ones punished if you break a law.”

“Well, that and you can’t get married.” Tony piped up without thinking.

“What?” Steve looked at them with his eyes wide. “What else?”

“Tony!” Pepper glared at him. “Look, if you have kids they are free but slaves are not allowed to marry. It messes with the owners rights to sell but we would never sell you! That in no ways means that you cannot date and fall in love.”

“Yeah, it just means that you don’t have a little piece of paper. It doesn’t mean you can’t have a promise ceremony.” Tony added quickly.

“Look,” Steve breathed out slowly. “I think I need to sleep on this for a while. You said I have a bedroom?”

“Yeah,” Tony said as everyone stood up. They walked down the hallway and showed him to a suite that was larger than some apartments that Steve had lived in. It was decorated in red, white and blue but tastefully. The deep burgundy couch and chairs sat over a cherry wood floor. The tables were white and the walls were a pale blue. There were throw pillows in the burgundy, pale blue and white that the rest of the room held. The colors led into a kitchen with cherry cabinets, pale blue counters and white appliances. 

“You can decorate it however you like. I didn’t want to assume that I knew what you liked. If you don’t like the furniture we can change it.” Tony shifted around uncomfortably.

“No,” Steve said taking in the room and letting his eyes settle on his shield that was set on a stand above the fire place. “It’s perfect.”

The others left him and he spent a few minutes exploring his new apartment. The bedroom was a surprise. The furniture was all oak and looked exactly like what was available in Steve’s time. There was even an old radio on the dresser. This room was carpeted in brown and the walls were sage green. When he opened the drawers, he saw a variety of clothes his size. Steve let out a chuckle when he saw that the only underwear left for him was Captain America boxers.

He decided that a nap would be a good idea. He didn’t expect to fall asleep quickly but the events of the day caught up to him and he found himself dozing off before he had even finished processing everything he had learned.

XXX

Steve didn't wake up until 5 the next morning. His stomach growled as he put on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He looked into his kitchen but it had not yet been stocked so he walked down the hall to the community kitchen. He helped himself to eggs and sausage while he thought about what he was going to do today. 

“Mr. Rogers, sir would like me to point out that there is a full gym at your disposal on the floor below you and that you have been granted permission to wander the tower.” The voice rang out from the walls.

“Um, thank you JARVIS.” Steve found himself looking at the ceiling while he talked. “Is Tony up this early?”

“Sir has yet to go to bed.” came the reply.

“Huh,” Steve replied. He remembered how little sleep Howard had always seemed to need. Looks like Tony takes after him.

Steve walked down one flight of stairs and saw the gym. Well, it was like four gyms put together. It had everything from a fighting ring, exercise equipment, gymnastics area, even a rock wall at the far end. He ran around the track for a while then taped up his hands and started in on the punching bag. He sent four flying before he felt like he was working up a real sweat. He just kept seeing his old friends. What would they think of him now? Nothing more than an outdated relic. A slave who couldn’t even walk outside alone. He sent the fifth punching bag across the room when someone walked in. 

“Wow. Looks like I know what my next project is going to be.” Tony walked towards Steve with a file in his hands. “Just had a visit from Agent. There’s something we need to talk about.”

Steve stopped what he was doing and started to unwrap his hands. He looked at Tony expectantly.

“Yeah, well. You know how you are all about saving America and keeping it's people alive? Well, how would you like to do that again? Turns out that there is this thing called the Tesseract that needs to be found.” He opened the file and showed Steve a picture of the cube.

“Hydra’s secret weapon.” Steve said. “Didn't that fall into the ocean?”

“My dad found it while he was looking for you.”

“He should have left it there.” Steve frowned.

“Well, he didn’t. And now it is in the hands of a mad man, god, thing.” Tony waved the file until Steve took it from his hands. He opened it but didn’t understand most of the words being used. 

“What do you need me to do?”

“Well, a team is being assembled and I was wondering if you wanted in on it. You may get to beat up some bad guys and everything.”

Steve sighed. “What would an old relic like me be able to even do?”

“A lot more than you think,” a deep voice came from the doorway. In walked a tall black man that was wearing a long black leather jacket and had a patch over his left eye. 

“What the hell are you doing here!” Tony yelled. “JARVIS, why didn’t you tell me that the big bad wolf came to visit?”

“I’m sorry sir, you requested that I never speak of him again.” The voice sounded a little snarky.

“None of that.” Tony chided his AI.

“Stark,” the man said, “it is imperative that you start working on that.”

“I know. I just got to catch Rip Van Winkle over here up on what is going on.”

“Captain, I’m Nick Fury. The director for SHIELD. If Stark gives his permission, we need you on this.” Fury glared his eye at the soldier.

“I just can’t see how. I don’t even understand most of these words.” Steve waved the file at the other men.

“Hey, I’m a genius. Most people can’t understand a tenth of the words I use.” Tony said back grabbing the file.

“Look, when I went to sleep, the world was at war. When I woke up I heard that we won. Then I found out what we lost.” Steve said while he gathered his things.

Fury walked over to him. “We’ve made some mistakes along the way. Some very big ones.”

“You’re telling me. If I do this, can you get the Army off my back?”

“No,” replied Fury. “But I can give you a reason to keep fighting.”

“You really need me on this mission, sir?” Steve relaxed into an at-ease position.

“Yes. There is a lot that we will have to bring you up to speed on. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know.” Fury handed Steve another file. “Go over that. We will pick you two up in a couple of hours.”

“Nope,” replied Tony. “Got our own transportation. See you when we get there.”

Fury waved a hand and walked out of the room. 

“JARVIS!”

“Yes, sir?”

“Make sure that Fury leaves the building, then sweep for bugs.” Tony instructed his AI. “Steve, I need to go to the lab. I have a lot to learn about quantum mechanics within the next few hours. We should be able to leave in about 4 no 7 no 3 hours? Okay, I’ll just call you when I am ready.”

Tony started yelling at JARVIS as he left the room about how the lab needed to be set up by the time he got there. Steve decided to go to his room and look over the file. Maybe JARVIS could help him figure out what some of the words meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One Hundred and Forty Million Dollars was the budget for the first Captain America movie.


	2. The Hulk's collar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce Banner is now the official property of the US Army.

Bruce Banner

After the Hulk stopped the Abomination from destroying Harlem, he was exhausted. Even in his enhanced state, he could not run for long. Eventually the military caught up to him and managed to take a passed out Dr. Banner into custody. The last time Betty saw him, he was being loaded onto a medical helicopter and flown away.

XXX

The collar was ingenious. It was currently collapsed but if Dr. Banner ever became upset enough to grow into the Hulk, it would expand to five times its size. It was made out of adimantium and was one of the few things that even the Hulk could not break. The real incredible thing about it though was the sensor. It monitored the doctor's heartbeat. When he got too excited, it released a needle that injected a beta blocker which slowed his heart rate down and kept the Hulk from making an appearance. This feature needed to be recharged and refilled daily but it kept those around the doctor safe. He didn’t need any special cell. He just needed his collar.

Many times the military decided to use the Hulk as a weapon. They adjusted the collar so that it wouldn’t go off for a few hours and dropped him into enemy territory. When Dr. Banner woke up, he was naked and surrounded by the dead. Sometime he would have survivors skittering just out of his sight. The children and wives of those that he was sent to stop. Mostly though, he would find himself in the ruins of a terrorist cell and have nothing to do but wait to be picked up again. He tried to run once but the collar just knocked him unconscious once he reached a certain distance from the town he had destroyed. 

The good doctor had lost his freedom. He had lost his ability to control the other guy. Worse, he had lost any chance he had to keep other’s from experiencing his same fate. General Ross was going to have an army of Hulks if it was the last thing he did.

XXX

She was in her early twenties. Her blonde hair had been cut short and her nails had been cut down to the beds. The collar looked new and she kept moving it, trying to get it to a more comfortable position on her neck. Bruce looked at her. He knew why she had been locked into his cell. He had been caught masturbating after a very vivid dream and when they realized that he could finish without raising his blood pressure, they began to scheme of a way to get more Hulks. Taking the doctor's blood had so far yielded no results. They didn’t realize that it it had taken him hours to get to that point. He highly doubted that real sex was anywhere in his future. And not here, that was for sure.

“Here,” said Bruce. “Have a seat.”

She looked hesitantly at him before she sat next to him on the cot. It was the only furniture outside of the toilet in the room. She looked around nervously before sighing and asking, “So, what are you in for?”

Bruce chuckled a bit. “I turned into a monster. You?”

She must have thought that he was exaggerating because she smiled back. “Yeah. Me too. I saw my husband with that hussy and just couldn’t help myself. Next thing I knew they were both dead and I was turned into a slave.”

They shifted uncomfortably together for a little bit before she started talking again. “I have no idea what the Army wants me for. I mean, I was a cashier. Not exactly useful in a fight.”

Bruce scratched the back of his head. He really hated his position. “Um, they want little monsters. They expect us to breed.” He said this quickly and then looked away from her. He didn’t want to see her shock or disgust.

“They what?” She exclaimed. “What kind of monster are you?”

“I’m...” how does he say it? “I’m the Hulk.”

“You mean that huge green thing that destroyed Culver University? That was you?” She got up and backed herself into the corner that was as far away from Dr. Banner as she could reach.

“Yeah.” he said. He took his glasses off and started to clean them with his shirt. “Don’t worry. I won't touch you.”

“You’re damn right you won’t touch me. I don’t want you anywhere near me.” She spit out as she crouched down onto the floor.

Bruce sighed and the went to the opposite side of the room. “You can have the bed. I’m used to sleeping on floors anyways.”

She didn’t get up. She stayed in her corner until someone showed up to take her out of the cell.

XXX

“What is wrong with you?” General Ross was glowering at Dr. Banner. Bruce was completely naked and tied down to a table while a group of scientists were taking their daily blood, skin and muscle samples. They had already recharged the collar but it hadn’t needed refilled. Bruce hadn’t lost his control in over a month now.

“I mean, we give you a beautiful woman and you just scare her away. We’ve tried recreating your gamma experiment but so far it has yielded less than stellar results.” Bruce had seen some of those results. They were the lucky ones. The mounds of flesh had been put out of their misery after just a few hours.

“You will give me my army.” General Ross leaned over the doctor. Bruce continued to focus on a spot in the ceiling. There was a scientist doing something new to him. They didn’t even bother with anesthesia. They never did. They made a small incision of his scrotum. Then they removed some of the tissue before suturing him up and placing a compound bandage on him. The collar was activated not for the pain but when Bruce realized that even his reproductive rights had been taken away. He couldn’t take it anymore. The tears ran down his face. Ross smiled triumphantly down at the broken man.

XXX

Bruce was on the floor doing his yoga exercising when General Ross stormed into the room. He grabbed Bruce by the hair and threw him against the wall. “You destroy everything you touch!” The man screamed as he started to punch the shorter man. Bruce brought his hands up to protect his face but the punches and kicks still rained down upon his body. There was a pinch in his neck as the collar was activated.

“They died. Everyone we impregnated with your sperm died of radiation poisoning. God. You are filled with nothing but venom! You are one of the most useless things on this planet!” The general beat Bruce until the man was unconscious on the floor. Blood dripping from various cuts, his ears, eyes, nose and mouth. 

“Talbot,” Ross called through the door. A soldier ran into the room. “Prepare him to be dropped. There is a group in Afghanistan that needs to be stopped.” Then leaning over Bruce he whispered, “At least we can get one use out of you.”

XXX

Bruce was led to a room he had not been in before. It looked like the other medical rooms he had seen but this one had a lot more recording equipment. He was tied down to an examination table. There was a camera right above him, another at his feet and a few on the walls. 

“Subject is a 47 year old male who looks like he is in his mid thirties. According to prior documentation, his physical appearance has altered over the years making him look drawn out and unhealthy but he does not seem to have aged much since the incident. Today we are going to start testing his regrowth abilities. Do they only occur in his alternative form or can he heal himself as is?”

Banner went over what he had just heard in his mind. He was unable to find the source of the voice but he did hear footsteps behind him. Finally the scientist walked into Bruce’s view. He looked excited but calm. Short brown hair, brown eyes, olive complexion. Bruce had never seen the man before today. 

“I heal as a normal person would,” Banner told the scientist. “You could just ask me. No need to waste time and resources.”

“I believe your views are skewed,” came the reply. “We also want to do tests that you may not have done yourself.”

“No really,” Bruce started to sound as nervous as he felt. He cringed when the needle hit his neck. “A lot of what you are about to do is a waste. Just talk to me.”

“The subject is started to exhibit fear. We are putting him under to further allow us to conduct these tests without incident.” Someone else put a mask over Bruce’s face and the world slowly went black.

XXX

Bruce woke up in the same examination room as he had fallen asleep in. His stomach felt like it had been wrenched open. He couldn’t move to get a good angle to see what they had done to him. He screamed out in pain.

“Subject appears to have awaken with an intense reaction to the removal of liver, kidneys and spleen. His movement is not causing any more bleeding from the areas we cauterized but there seems to be a reaction that we had not anticipated.”

Bruce lost the ability to hear what she was saying. Everything started to go green. The drug hit his neck but nothing seemed to stop the oncoming change. Bruce continued to scream out in pain until his voice became a roar. The Hulk twisted itself off of the table and attacked. 

XXX

Bruce woke up in a new cell. There was a bright light lit above his head. His collar was attached to a thick chain that was attached to the floor. He wasn’t wearing any clothes and his skin was covered in blood and dirt. He felt his stomach but it was perfectly healed. His muscles ached and he had the normal headache that occurred after a transformation. The chain was too heavy for him to move far. Bruce found it was best to just let himself stay lying down.

It may have been hours or days but finally the door opened. Bruce didn’t care enough to try to get up. General Ross walked in and looked down at his slave. “You caused quite a mess. Four scientists were killed during your little temper tantrum and millions of dollars of lab equipment was destroyed. Do you really harm everything you touch?”

Bruce didn’t look at the general. He didn’t say anything. He knows that he acted appropriately for someone who just had their insides torn out but that didn’t stop the guilt he felt at the loss of life. He knew he was a monster. 

“The only good news is that the other team is finally seeing some success at possibly reproducing your experiment. I’ll have my army.”

The general left as Bruce caught himself repeating, “No” over and over again.

XXX

A few days later Bruce was placed into a new cell. To get to this one, they had to go down a lot of stairs. Bruce lost track at the number around 300. They ended up in a very large room. It looked big enough to hold a basketball game. The walls, ceiling and floor were all metal. There was a cot at one end. A small open area led into a bathroom. There was a locked door as well. He was left alone in this new area for a few hours. The very thick door to the stairs locked behind him.

Bruce had not eaten in days. They hadn’t left him any water either so the first thing he did was head into the bathroom and take a deep drink from the sink. There was a set of drawers set in the wall with various sets of scrubs so Bruce took a minute to shower and get dressed. 

After a long time of nothing, the door to the stairs was opened. A group of scientists and soldiers entered. Yeah, thought Bruce. I expected this.

They took him into the locked room. It was almost identical to the examination room that he had destroyed earlier. They tied him to the table and set about their work. It turns out that they wanted to know how much abuse he could take before the other guy showed up. Turns out to be a lot. 

They would do whatever procedure they thought was important at the time and then leave him alone in the larger room. At first they left him on the cot but after it was destroyed, they just left him on the floor. The walls, ceiling and floor received many dents but the Hulk was unable to escape. He torn at the opening to the bathroom but all he managed to do was widen the doorway. He still was too big to enter it so the facilities seemed to stay usable. The only good thing about these experiments was that they had to start feeding Bruce again in order to obtain proper results.

XXX

After a few months, a soldier came in and grabbed Bruce roughly. They went up the many stairs (this time Bruce counted 462). They went to another room with a table and chairs. A beautiful redhead was waiting for him. After the doctor was seated, the soldier left the two alone.

“This isn’t the type of place I expected to find you,” she said. “Seemed to be a bit stressful.”

“Avoiding stress isn’t the secret”

“Then what is it? Yoga?”

“Can I assume that we are being monitored and that there are a group of soldiers right outside that door?”

“Just you and me.”

“Who are you?”

“Natasha Romanova”

“Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanova? Because that's not going to work out.”

“No, no. Of course not. I’m here on behalf of SHIELD. Nick Fury seems to trust you. We have permission to borrow you if you are willing. We need you to help us.”

“What if I say no?” Bruce was getting curious. Why were they even asking him to help instead of just dropping the guy onto whatever threat they found?

“I’ll persuade you”

“And what if the other guy says no”

“It’s been more than a year without hurting anyone outside of terrorists threats. I don’t think you want to break that streak.”

“Well, slaves don’t get what they want.”

“Doctor, we are facing a potential global catastrophe”

“Well, those I actively try to avoid.”

“This is the teseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet.” She pulled up a picture on her cell phone and slid it over to Bruce. He looked at it for a minute.

“What does Fury want me to do with it? Swallow it?”

“He wants you to find it. It’s been taken. It emits a gamma signature that is too week for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's were I’ll be.”

Ah, he thought. They actually needed the doctor's cooperation before they force him to unleash the monster. This conversation is starting to make more sense. “So fury isn’t after the monster?”

“Not that he’s told me.”

“And he tells you everything.”

“Talk to Fury. He needs you on this.”

“He needs me to Hulk out and who cares about who I destroy as long as I get the bad guys.”

“no one’s going to force you...”

“Stop lying to me!” Bruce slammed his hands down on the table. It took most of his energy to yell at her without activating the collar but it was worth it to see her jump up and point a gun at his head. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That was mean. I just wanted to see what you’d do. Why don’t we do this the easy way where you don’t use that and the other guy doesn’t make a mess”

“Stand down.” She said into her ear piece.

“No soldiers, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried to stay true to the movie. Not easy when the other guy doesn't really have a change to come out.


	3. He had heart and training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint will do anything to take care of Loki's needs

Clint Barton

He had found the perfect place for his new master. It was an underground bunker within a days drive of New York City. It was created by a company to shield their operations from a nuclear bomb during the cold war and had been abandoned for years. It was still dry and took very little work to clean.

Hawkeye walked around the bunker. The scientists had almost all of the resources they needed and there were now plenty of mercenaries that Barton was more than happy to pay out of his personal account to protect the master. He ended up perched on a ledge looking over Loki as he was on the floor meditating. When his master jerked suddenly he was on the floor nearby making sure that he was available to help in any way possible. 

Loki looked over at Barton. The man's unnaturally blue eyes actually looked concerned. Did he honestly think that he was worthy of helping him any further? Barton had acquired everything he had needed so far and seemed to think of himself as second in command. What right did he have to give himself that position? Loki stood up and grabbed Hawkeye by the neck. The man flinched for a second but only stared at his master patiently.

“You think you can help me with all of my needs?” Loki hissed into his ear.

“This slave is merely available for anything you have need of me to do,” was his answer.

“And if I am in need of privacy, will you give that to me?” Loki said as he let the man go.

“Follow me,” Barton turned and started walking down one of the halls. He led Loki to a room that was set up as an office. There were no windows and the door had a thick bolt lock. After the men entered, Loki told Barton to lock the door. Loki sat down on the desk and told Clint to strip.

“Sir?” Barton looked confused as he took off his shirt. Loki didn’t say anything. He just watched the man as he took off each piece of clothing and tossed it to the side. Once he was naked, Barton stood at parade rest and waited for his next command. Loki took his time looking over the scarred skin and hard muscles. Barton had next to no fat on his body and the lines of his abs, arms and legs were very pronounced.

“You told me that you are a slave. What is the main use for such a being in this world?” Loki stood up and started to circle Barton.

“Usually they are used sexually or in menial tasks unless they have a special skill set that their owner chooses to use.” Barton’s response held no emotion.

“And how were you used?” came Loki's next question.

“A little of all three honestly. I was trained in menial tasks first, than as a sex slave until my aim was perfected and I was able to become an assassin.”

“And how involved was your training?”

Clint was not a stupid man. He knew where this was going. He bowed his head before looking up at Loki through his eyelashes asking, “Would you give a lowly human permission to show you?”

Loki looked at this pathetic being in front of him but his curiosity and his need for release was getting the better of him so he nodded. Clint walked over to Loki and kneeled down in front of him. He reached up to help the god out of his clothes but could not figure out what he needed to do. Loki smirked down at him and waved his hand. Clint bit his lip when he saw the god in front of him. His smooth skin was free from imperfections. The stomach was hard and muscled while the limbs were long and sinewy. What really caught his eye though was the long cock in front of him. Unlike humans it seemed to be ribbed and over 10 inches in length. He reached up and couldn’t touch his longest finger to his thumb as he wrapped his hand around it. 

Clint thanked his past for his circus training as he took the cock into his mouth. In a few seconds he was able to swallow the long limb into his throat and hummed as he heard the groan above him. The pleasing sound of his new master sent a jolt of joy through him. Barton found himself using every trick he had ever learned to increase his master’s enjoyment without making the experience too short. He knew when to pull off and just suck the head for a while before going back down deep enough to reach his tongue out and lick his balls. 

Loki had his eyes closed but they opened in shock as Clint managed to both swallow him down and lick his balls at the same time. He looked down and admired how gorgeous this slave was as his head bobbed up and down his cock. He had originally planned on killing him after he lost his usefulness but now he decided to let Barton live. If he ever got tired of him he could be sent to someone as a thank you offering. 

Clint looked up at Loki. His heart was full of love for the man who deemed him worthy to taste and please him. He reached up and started to message the god’s balls as he intensified the movements upon his cock. He opened his throat and swallowed him for the last time as he felt the balls rise. Clint swallowed everything automatically but allowed himself to pull back a bit so that he would be able to taste his master before he was finished.

Loki pushed the man back onto the floor when he was done trembling. He had never experienced a better blow job in his life. He had many partners in his past but none of them had the knowledge or skills of this slave. “You will become my personal bed slave. When we are done, I will have you perform all of your skills whenever I want.”

Clint’s eyes grew in anticipation. He was going to be allowed to continue to serve his new master. He was so pleased that he didn’t even care that his own hard on was being ignored. His needs didn’t matter.

The blue in Clint’s eyes grew deeper for a second. “The Tesseract is telling you something.” said Loki. “What is it?”

“My next mission.” Clint said as he got up and dressed himself quickly. “I am going to need your help.”

“What do you need?” Loki said curiously.

“A distraction. And an eyeball.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I see no need to repeat the whole Avenger movie so I may skip the things that happened exactly like the movie said such as Hawkeye being mind controlled and Selvig talking about how open his mind finally is to the truth.


	4. Assembling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretty much covers how the movie would have gone in this universe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't bother to rewrite the movie. I skipped everything that happened exactly like it did in The Avengers. If you haven't seen the movie, you will not understand this chapter.
> 
> I do not own any ideas in this story.

Steve was sitting in his living room when he got the call to meet Tony on the roof in uniform. When he got there a small jet was waiting to take them to SHIELD. A man in a very well tailored black suit was waiting for him.

“Captain, ah... Mr. Rogers... Um. Follow me.” The man ran his hand through his thinning hair and shifted nervously.

“Isn’t Tony coming?” Steve asked.

The man smirked before saying, “He likes to fly himself.” 

At that moment a whooshing sound a a loud clank made Steve spin around. Behind him was a metal man who was getting up from having two feet and a hand on the floor. A metallic version of Tony’s voice could be heard. “Actually, I think I might see how nice my jet is for a change. I’ve had it a week and have never used it.”

Tony got onto the jet and stepped into what looked like a closet. Robotic arms came out and disassembled his armor. The genius then walked out wearing tight black pants and a very tight black shirt. He pulled a well worn t-shirt out of a drawer and put it on over the other clothes. 

“Nice suit.” Steve said motioning towards the armor.

“Thanks. Made it myself.” Tony winked at him and then helped himself to a bar located at the other end of the jet. Steve shook his head. Did the man have alcohol everywhere?

“Mr. Stark, if you are good than the pilot would like permission to leave.” The other man glared at the billionaire. Tony just waved his affirmative towards the pilot.

“Oh Steve, have you met Agent yet? Agent, Steve. Steve, Agent.” 

“Um, Agent?” Steve asked when he went to shake the man’s hand.

The man's eyes got wide and he grasped Steve’s hand. The handshake was a bit too quick but firm. “It’s Coulson actually. Agent Phil Coulson.”

Tony took a long look at the agent in front of him. This was the man who threatened to taze him without batting an eyelash. Phil didn’t even look upset when Obie was barreling down on him with his own version of the Mark 1. Yet the man in front of him was flustered and even a bit scared. Oh... Oh!

“Can it be that you are a fan, Agent Coulson?” Tony walked up and smirked at the man. “Let me guess, you were the president of his fan club and have all his movies.”

Agent Coulson actually blushed and turned his head away from the others. Steve had dealt with fans before but didn’t think that anyone would still remember who he was, let alone still be admiring him for something he did almost 70 years ago. 

“Well,” said Steve almost automatically. “It is always nice to meet a fan.” He tried to give the other man a competent smile. This actually seemed to make the other man even more nervous.

Tony couldn’t let it go. “Oh, Agent. He likes you. Maybe he’ll even sign your trading cards.”

“You know about those?” Coulson asked in shock. The look on Tony’s face told him that it had only been a jab and he wasn’t expecting him to actually have the cards. “Crap,” said Coulson. Then he looked up at his hero and murmured, “I only have a few. They're vintage.”

Steve didn’t know what to say for a moment until he finally got out a “of course. Just bring them to me when you have a chance.”

The agent looked like he was actually going to swoon. Then he cleared his throat and managed to collect himself. “We need to debrief you. The other specialists are being gathering and as soon as everyone is on board we will go over the specifics.” A darkness seemed to enter the man’s eyes for a moment. “We need to find a way to stop Loki and the agents he managed to compromise.”

XXX

They were the last to get to the conference room. There was a red haired woman that Tony walked up to and said, “Oh, hello Natalie, or is it something else this week?”

“Natasha Romanov,” she said as she brushed past Tony and shook Steve’s hand. 

“Steve Rogers,” came the reply.

There was a very thin man wearing rumpled clothes and was in great need of a haircut sitting at the other end of the table. He wouldn’t look up. Tony walked over and gave out an exaggerated gasp. “Banner? Dr. Banner? I am a great fan of your work.” This got the other man to raise his head showing the silver collar about his neck. “I think your work is unparalleled and I love how you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”

“Ah, thanks.” Bruce said with almost a smile on his face. Then he looked down again.

Steve looked questioningly at the collared man. He noticed that there was an MP against the wall near where the man sat. He walked over and sat next to the doctor. “I’m Steve.” When the man didn’t acknowledge his presence he pushed a bit more. “Tony says you are a doctor?”

“He’s the leading expert on Gamma radiation,” came Fury’s voice as he entered the conference room. Everyone took a seat and the man proceeded to tell them about the Tesseract. Banner seemed to show little interest but when the group was dismissed he promptly got up and went down to a lab. The MP followed closely but just stood against a wall when they got to the other room. Banner’s eyes seemed to come alive as he worked on the various computers but he refused to speak. 

Agent Sitwell came into the room and told Steve and Tony that they got a hit on the facial recognition software. Soon Agent Romanov, Captain America and Iron Man were on their way to Stuttgart, Germany. 

XXX

“Let me know if ‘real power’ wants a magazine or something”

XXX

Loki had been too easy to acquire. Tony knew that he had some pretty good weapons but this man didn’t even try to get away. He lost the fight too easily. Natasha agreed with him and went off to try to get more information. Plus now they had the guys brother to deal with. The number of problems was increasing but the math wasn’t coming out right. While this was going on, Tony had JARVIS looking for other things. 

After a while though, Tony was starting to get bored. He decided to try to get Dr. Banner out of his shell. He started talking to the man and even zapped him once. Steve walked in while that was going on and got mad. If Dr. Banner was really capable of turning into the Hulk like everyone said, how dare Tony risk everyone’s life. The argument got even deeper as the computer beeped and told Tony about a file that he might be interested in. That just made the fight between Tony and Steve worse. When Steve found out that Tony was hacking into SHIELD’s mainframe he lost it and walked out.

XXX

When Steve returned to the lab, Fury, Tony and Banner were arguing about Phase Two. As Tony was trying to figure out what it was Steve slammed a HYDRA gun onto the table. 

“Phase Two is SHIELD used the Cube to make weapons,” said Steve and then he looked at Tony. “Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me.”

The group of men began fighting. Natasha came in and tried to calm Dr. Banner down but he would have none of it. When he tried to find out why SHIELD was trying to build weapons of mass destruction Fury blamed it on Thor. Then Thor joined the fight. The noise got louder while they argued. Steve told Tony he was not the man to make the difficult decisions. Finally Fury realized that this may be too much for the doctor so he tried to order Agent Romanov to take him away.

“Where,” asked Dr. Banner. “You rented my room.”

“That was...” started Fury.

“In case you needed to kill but you can’t. It’s been tried.” Dr. Banner hung his head. “I got low. I put a bullet in my head and the other guy spit it out. I decided to live with it and try to make the world a better place. Then the Army caught me. They decided that they needed a way to kill the creatures they are trying to build with my blood so they started experimenting on me. It didn’t work. They tried everything. The other guy is immune to gas, poison, organ removal, sanguination, extreme temperatures, lack of oxygen, they even took out a part of my brain. I cannot be killed.” 

The rest of the room was silent. After a moment Dr. Banner looked around. “You want to know my secret,” he said. “You want to know how I stay so calm? It isn’t the collar.”

The group suddenly got nervous and reached for their weapons. “Dr. Banner,” said Fury. “Put the scepter down.”

The doctor was actually surprised to find that he was holding Loki’s spear. He put it down quickly as the computer started to alert them that there was a Gamma radiation spike in New York City. Just as he was about to tell everyone the news an explosion hit. Bruce and Natasha were thrown through a wall. Natasha was pinned down but otherwise fine. The doctor was hurt. There was a piece of the wall embedded in his chest. He knew that he was a threat. His collar went off with a hiss but the drugs only slowed the transformation process. Try as he might, Bruce could not keep the Hulk down. The world turned to green.

XXX

Thor exclaimed that the battle was epic. He decided to find a local bard later and have their exploits recounted for generations to come. The others looked around at the destruction. Tony knew that he was going to be blamed for some of it and started doing some calculations in his head of how much Stark Industries should donate to clean it up without admitted guilt. The others were following him to the restaurant. It was pretty beat up but the cooks were able to make them a decent meal and they all ate in silence. 

Between the exhaustion, worrying about the city, worrying about Loki and just general worry, the group didn’t have it in them to talk. Finally Barton asked if anyone had a cell phone. He needed to check in. Natasha gave him a weird look as he accepted the phone from Tony. He called in to SHIELD to let them know where he was and when to expect him home as per slave protocol. The others either didn’t know why he was giving the agency his timeline or were polite enough not to point it out.

The group talked about meeting up in a few days to see the Asgardians off and then went their separate ways for the night. Since the Army chaperone was not around Tony talked Bruce into coming with him to the tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured that Coulson kept a couple of doubles from his collection and maybe even started to recollect the cards now that he has Clint.


	5. Still slaves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens to Bruce and Clint after the attack.

The Avengers assembled to see the Asgardians off. It was wonderful to see everyone. They smiled at each other and patted each other on the arm. Thor picked up the case holding the Tesseract and Loki grabbed the other end. The gods disappeared in a swirl of blue. 

The group started to go their separate ways when Natasha jumped around and pulled out her throwing knives. Clint similarly spun and pulled out his gun. A second later soldiers started coming out from behind trees and two Humvees drove up. General Ross got out of one of them and announced, “You are withholding government property. Now relinquish Banner into our care immediately.”

“Care?” yelled Steve. “You torture the guy and call it care?”

A hiss came as Banner’s collar was activated. He put a hand on the soldiers arm. “It’s okay, Steve.” then he walked over to the general with his head held low. His shoulders trembled slightly.

“It is not okay,” Tony exclaimed. “We won’t let them take you.”

“I’m afraid that is where you are wrong. This monster is army property and you don’t have a right to keep him. Now we are leaving. Just be glad that I am not going to bill you for the extra few days he was in your custody.” 

Clint and Natasha both had to work to hold Tony back while Steve stood there shocked. Bruce climbed into the back seat of the Humvee and it drove away. After it was out of sight the soldiers put down their guns and left. 

“Why did you let him go? They are just going to torture him again.” Tony yelled at his teammates.

Clint looked at Tony and sighed. “It’s the law, Stark. You want to get shot? Nothing you could have done could have stopped this.”

“What are they going to do to him?” Steve’s voice sounded small.

Clint looked at him with sad eyes. “Like he said earlier. They are going to use him to create an army and learn how to stop that army if it goes rogue.”

“How can you be okay with this?” Steve yelled at Clint.

“I’m not. Not everyone gets the nice master. Not everyone gets to work and live a normal life. Some people get tortured. Some people get punished for being human. Some people get whipped for simple mistakes.” Clint’s hands balled up in fists. His voice got quieter and the emotions behind it left. “Some people have to do things that they would prefer to die first but that is not an option.”

Steve was new to this world but reading people is a skill that never went out of date. “You’re a slave.” He said before he could think.

Clint pulled down the high collar of his uniform and showed a mess of scars around his neck. “What told you? My constant calling into SHIELD about my location or these lovely reminders?”

“Fuck!” said Tony. “We saved the world with three people who are deemed not worth treating as human. This is messed up!”

“Three?” Natasha asked. Steve just shrugged. “It turns out that I owe a lot of money that’s been accruing interest for almost 70 years. After I pay off Stark, I have to pay off the Army.”

“No,” said Tony. “You are not going to belong to the Army. You see what they do. We will collect the money and pay off your debt to them first. Heck, I can probably pay it off myself.”

“Tony,” sighed Steve. “Let's worry about me later. What are we going to do for Bruce?”

Tony was about to open his mouth when another black car pulled up. Agent Sitwell stepped out of the car and walked over to the Avengers.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he said. “But I was sent to bring Barton back.”

Clint sighed. “Any chance I can pass for a bit? I’m sorta needed for Avenger stuff right now. I’m sure Coulson won't mind.”

The others looked at him funny with the mention of Coulson’s name. “uh, no one told you?” Tony said.

“Told me what.” Clint frowned at him.

“Phil was killed during the attack on the Helicarrier. Loki speared him.”

Clint’s entire world went black. He didn't quite faint but he did fall to the ground hard. His breath left him as he started to hyperventilate. Natasha was by his side, scowling at Tony.

“I take it that Clint and Agent were close.” Tony sort of asked.

“He’s my owner,” Clint managed to get out.

“Never figured Agent for the slave owning type.” Tony said, still confused.

Natasha kept scowling at him but it was Clint that said still in shock, “Slaves aren't allowed to get married, Stark.” 

“Shit,” was all that Tony could say before he turned toward Sitwell. “What’s going to happen to him?”

“We aren’t sure,” came the reply. “The bank should already have a list of those that died during the attack. It depends on what they plan on doing with the loan he took out to afford Barton and what Coulson’s will states.”

Tony frowned as he pulled out his cell phone and called Pepper. “Hey Honey, I got a really big favor to ask you. No.... Well, yes, I will probably ask that of you tonight but right now I need you to use Stark Industries legal pull to acquire someone... No, I am not being manipulated... No, I am not just buying friends... Clint Barton... Yeah, the arrow guy... I’ll have JARVIS send his file over. Thanks Pepper. You're the best.”

Tony spent a few more minutes typing into his phone before he turned back towards the team. Clint was already standing and had schooled his features from showing his emotions. He followed Sitwell into the car without a word. Natasha went with him with a promise to call and update and a threat to Tony if she wasn’t updated on Banner’s situation.

Steve and Tony looked at each other for a minute. “Hey look,” Tony said. “I know that I gave you permission to roam around the state for bit on your motorcycle as long as you kept your tracker on you.” Steve looked down at the bracelet that was locked onto his arm and spoke up before Tony could go any further. “What can I do to help?”

XXX

Stark Industries legal team was the best. It had to be for all of the work that Tony alone sent them. It didn’t hurt that he was willing to pay good money for the work that he got. They set to work immediately contacting the bank, SHIELD and anyone else that had a stake on Barton.

The team was also working on obtaining Bruce Banner. A few hours before the Chitauri attack they had been sent his information and were trying to either get the man freed or buy him. Tony and Steve felt useless as the lawyers did their jobs. Steve helped Tony in his lab until Pepper showed up with a smile on her face.

“Tony,” she said as she leaned into him for a chaste kiss. “I know how you can help.”

“Good Pepper because Cap and I were just about to finish buffing out these dents and we were trying to figure out the best way to attack the base.”

“Don't you dare,” came her reply. “There is another way you can fight that doesn’t involve being sent to jail and losing our claim on Steve.”

She brought up the press conference that she had scheduled in an hour. After hearing her plan, Tony's eye’s lit up and he kissed her. 

XXX

The press conference was perfect. Tony looked over the que cards before he started in on his own speech. He waxed poetic about how amazing Dr. Banner was and how he managed to track down Loki. Then he went on about how the Earth would have been lost if it wasn’t for the Hulk’s help. When asked about the destruction he caused in Harlem a few years ago Tony was able to bring up the shaky footage from a bystanders cell phone of the Abomination doing most of the damage while the Hulk seemed to be just trying to stop him. 

Christine Everheart could not believe what she was hearing. “Do you really expect us to believe that the Hulk is some kind hearted being that is simply misunderstood?”

“Oh, no!” Tony let out a laugh. “The Hulk is pure rage. What I expect you to believe is that he is not a threat. At no time did he hurt a single human being that hadn’t attacked him first. At no time did he kill anyone who wasn’t trying to kill him. He acted out of self defense. He saved countless lived during the attack a few weeks ago and we thank him by locking him up and experimenting on him. He is currently being tortured when he should be celebrated!”

“Look,” continued Tony, “If you don’t believe me, then believe Captain America.”

The cameras went wild as Steve walked up to the podium. He was wearing his full uniform with his shield at his back but his cowl was off. He smiled at the crowd for a second then set his face in a frown. “Dr. Banner is one of the smartest people I know and I’ve been friends with both Howard and Tony Stark.”

“Excuse me,” interrupted another reporter. “are you trying to convince us that you are really Captain America?”

“My name is Steve Rogers miss. I was Captain America in the war and have since taken up the mantel again. I know that my appearance in the Arctic has already hit the news and I have proved who I am to many. If you don’t believe my past at least believe this, I was part of the fighting force that stopped the Chitauri invasion. Without Dr. Banner's help we would never have found out where the portal was going to be opened and without the Hulk's help we would never have been able to stop the whale things they rode.”

Steve took a couple of breaths before Tony stepped up and took over the conference. “Look, all we want is a chance to save our friend from the torment. I am more than willing to pay a fair price for him. I am willing to work within the laws of the United States no matter how unconstitutional those laws may be.”

Christine Everheart's eyes flashed, “pretty big talk for a slave owner.”

“Yes,” sighed Tony Stark. “Thanks to my father I own one slave and I would free him in a second if I thought that the army wouldn't take advantage of their lien on him and torture him the same way they are torturing Dr. Banner. I fully plan on freeing the good doctor as soon as the law allows. Everyone knows that I am an abolitionist. I see no good coming from treating people worse than we treat our animals. Heck, I would be put in jail and then enslaved for the crap they are currently doing to Banner.”

Another reporter raised her hand. “Mr. Rogers, how did you feel when you discovered that your name was the first ever put on the slave registry?”

Steve glared at her for a moment. “The laws are flawed. I have never killed a human being outside of war. I take no pleasure in the pain of others. I never even had a parking ticket. I simply owe money. There is not a single law that would protect me from being treated the same way that Banner is right now. I risked my life to be able to defend freedom. I fought for freedom. I then gave my life for freedom. When I woke up, I discovered that I was no longer free. I am angry at the nation that I gave everything to. I am upset at the injustices of seeing animals with more rights than thinking, reasoning beings. I hurt when I think about what people like Banner are going through right now. Just please help us to convince the army that freeing Banner would be in their best interest.”

Pepper noticed that Steve wasn’t going to hold up to much more questioning so she stepped up to the podium. Tony took that as his clue to leave. He bumped Steve’s arm and tilted his head to tell him it was time to leave. Pepper informed the press that all questioning was over and then joined the two men in the other room.

XXX

Clint paced in his room at SHIELD’s New York headquarters. He couldn’t stop the tears that had been slowly sliding down his cheeks for hours. He was locked in until Phil’s estate could be settled. He was cursing his reputation at being able to break out of most rooms as he adjusted the collar on his neck, trying to make it more comfortable. It was the exact same type that the circus had used on him so many years ago. Natasha was somewhere in the building trying to find out what was going to happen to him. Clint started doing push ups to get rid of the energy that was coursing through him. He kept shifting between traditional, one-handed, finger tipped and any other type of push up he could think of. After a few hours, he was able to collapse into a tired heap but he knew that even if he exhausted himself, sleep would elude him for a while.

XXX

General Ross stormed down the stairs and into Dr. Banner's room. Bruce was sitting on the floor since he still wasn’t given a new bed. He moved to stand up but the general kicked him back down.

“I don’t know what your friends expect,” growled Ross, “but you are mine and nothing short of a presidential order is going to change that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote another story where Bruce and Thor were surprised to find out that Clint was a slave. They weren't there for the big reveal and the subject just never came up in front of them again. That's how I'm working it anyways. Any shock that Steve has in the second story is due to the situation and not the fact that Clint is a slave. If you decide to read the story, remember that there are spoilers for this one.


	6. Operation Free the Hulk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can the American public help the Avengers free their friend?

Natasha slipped into Clint's room. He was sleeping where he had sat down on the floor a few hours beforehand. He jerked awake as the door clicked closed. She walked over and sat next to him.

“So,” he croaked as his voice started to wake up for the day. “You find out what is going to become of me?”

“Yes,” she said calmly. “You belong to me now. Coulson had enough life insurance to pay off all of his debt and give me enough money to take care of you for a while.”

Clint sobbed into her shirt. Phil was still taking care of him. The only man who ever seemed to give a damn about him was gone but he would continue to keep him safe. “I... I was so scared that I would be sold again or given back to SHIELD.”

Natasha shushes him and rocks him slightly. He eventually falls asleep in her arms.

XXX

The next morning the two assassins went to Stark tower. Clint wore a large hooded sweatshirt hiding the collar he had to keep on him until the estate was settled. At least the shock part of the tracker had been turned off. Natasha wore her SHIELD uniform. 

JARVIS let them in immediately and took the elevator up to the penthouse where the others were trying to figure out how to help Bruce. The legal team was getting no where. The army had no interest in selling Dr. Banner. They had captured the fugitive legally and it was difficult to prove that every single person the Hulk had ever killed was done purely in self defense. They were going to try though.

“Clint!” Tony shouted as the two walked into the room. “I thought you would be stuck in the bowels of SHIELD for a while. Did you sneak out the vents?”

“Turns out that I belong to Tasha now,” Clint responded with a shrug.

“Oh, good.” Tony said as he sent a quick text to the legal team to drop the Barton case. “Then we can focus on Bruce. I’m sure you saw the press conference. You didn’t? Oh, well. It was brilliant. We are trying to convince our fans to start writing letters to the government and get Bruce freed. I figured that if we put in enough pressure, the army will have no choice but to let him go.”

Pepper came up and gave both agents a smile. “We have already started running commercials about his help in the fight but what we are trying to focus on now is his research. Did you know that Dr. Banner was on the team that invented one of the gamma radiation therapies to help fight cancer? Without his work, thousands of people might be dead or dealing with more invasive surgeries. Can you just imagine what he could accomplish with the type of funding that Tony plans on giving him?”

Steve joined the group with a frown. “We can’t free him on the promise to cure cancer. People will turn on us if he is unable to produce the results that you are eluding to.”

Tony just waved Steve’s concern away. “We aren’t going to promise a cure to cancer, just explain how helpful he has been to humanity in the past and then hint at how he will be able to start researching again if he was free.”

“Not to mention the amount of money Stark Medical would make off of his findings.” Natasha said with her arms crossed.

“What? Of course Stark Industries expects to be paid back for his work but when have I ever cared? He will be free, Romanov. He will be able to go to any lab that wants him. My job will simply be to make sure that the lab he chooses is here in the tower.”

Clint decided to defuse the situation a bit. “Tash, you know Stark is better than that. He is trying to free Bruce, not keep him.”

Natasha let her mask slip for a moment. She was tired. She hadn’t been able to sleep for the last few days as she dealt with the uncertainty of Clint’s future and then the paperwork to hurry up Coulson’s estate so that Clint could be uncollared. SHIELD still expected updates and always would since Clint was still listed as an employed slave but the calls could be to her which means that she could tell SHIELD no on his behalf if he wanted.

The others saw Natasha’s moment of weakness as she schooled her face. “I have learned a lot about slave law over the last few days. I just never figured how much our economy was dependent on it. I guess that I am still upset that Clint’s paycheck is going to be routed to my account now. Did you know that he is not even allowed to carry a debit card?”

The others smiled at first at the closest thing to an apology that Natasha was going to give Tony. Then they frowned as she told them what was bothering her. She clearly did not want to own her best friend. Steve than looked questioningly at Tony, “Is that why you insisted I only work with cash? You said it was to keep my old fashioned sensibilities.”

Tony held up his hands in surrender. “Hey, just trying not to spring everything on you at once. Don’t need you going into another 70 year coma.”

The argument then turned into a soft bickering for a while. The agents could tell that the words were starting to come out automatically showing that this was an old fight used more for comfort than anything else. They relaxed as the atmosphere turned friendly. Only to jump again as Tony suddenly turned around and grabbed Clint’s hood and pulled it down.

“Tasha collared you?” he exclaimed.

Clint shoved him off. “No. Everyone of Phil's possessions must be tracked and accounted for before the estate can be settled. You can thank your fine congressmen for my current jewelry.”

Tony glared at the collar for a few more moments. He ran his hands around it and jumped back like he had been bitten when he realized that he had just touched Hammer tech. “Idiot can’t make a weapon to save his life. The only thing he made that ever worked was those damn collars.”

Clint just shrugged. “Hey, I’m just happy that SHIELD turned off the shock tracker when Nat took charge of me.”

This time it was Pepper who reacted shocked. “They put a shock collar on you?”

Clint just shrugged. “Same thing the circus had. Only reason I didn’t run away.”

Tony reached up and started to fiddle with the collar again. He also kept typing on his StarkTab. After a few minutes the collar fell off. Clint reached up and rubbed his neck for a while. “Thanks but I am going to need to put that back on before we leave.”

“You could just stay until the estate is settled?” Pepper offered. Clint explained that he would love to but he had a curfew. 

“Okay,” Tony said. “Then we need to get back to work on Operation Free the Green Giant!”

Natasha rolled her eyes at the name but she and Clint both happily jumped in to help. They spent the afternoon making phone calls and sending emails to the various political leaders while Pepper worked with the marketing department to create the next round of commercials.

XXX

A few days went by with Clint and Tasha showing up early in the morning so that the group could work on freeing Bruce throughout the day. They had to leave soon after dinner but they got a lot accomplished. Clint threw himself into work to avoid mourning over Phil but still had to be reminded occasionally that he was not alone. Natasha spent a good amount of her time helping Pepper with Stark Industries freeing Tony up to build a Hulk proof room in the tower so that the people of New York could feel safe with him living there. Steve split his time between helping Tony carry heavy things and helping Clint with the phone call and letter writing campaigns. 

After a week JARVIS interrupted Tony to let him know that the President's Secretary was on the phone wishing to schedule a meeting with the Avengers. When Tony announced it to the group they actually cheered up for a minute. Tony took them on a whirlwind shopping trip that included hair cuts, new suits and shoes. Clint already had an Armani suit from an op that he was in a year beforehand but Tony demanded that he get a new one anyways. Steve wanted to wear his dress uniform but decided against it at Tony’s arguing that showing solidarity with the army was the last thing anyone in their group needed to do. Pepper and Natasha just enjoyed the shopping spree and managed to get four new pairs of shoes each off of Tony. 

XXX

The press had “somehow” gotten wind of the Avengers secret meeting with the President of the United States. As they got out of their limo the cameras flashed and shouts could be heard from the area that the press were regulated to. The Avengers smiled and stopped for one group picture before entering the white house and following their guide to the oval office. Each of them was wearing a pin that said “Free Banner”.

They entered the room and were asked to sit while they waited for the President. A few minutes later he came in and shook everyone’s hand. His smile was plastered on and he looked like he was tired but his voice was calm as he made sure that everyone was comfortable.

“Mr. President,” Steve said in his leader voice. “I would love a chance to chat with you someday but I know why you asked to meet with us and I want to know what you are going to do about Dr. Banner.”

“Captain Rogers,” he answered. “I would love to give him a pardon, I really would but what kind of promise would I get that he won't turn into a monster and hurt people?”

Tony answered, “That would be the fact that he has never hurt anyone outside of self defense. The Hulk has never harmed an innocent citizen.”

“I’m sorry,” The President said, “but I have seen the footage from Culver University and it shows differently. He put his own girlfriend in the hospital. Three scientists died that day.”

“Accidentally,” Tony replied. “He was confused and scared so he ran away. Granted, it was through walls but he did not go out of his way to hurt anyone.”

“I need proof that he won't be a danger. I need to know that I am not hurting the American public when I sign the order.” The Avengers eyes lit up when he said ‘when’ but they knew they still had to fight for their friends.

It was Steve's turn to talk. “There is now a Hulk proof room built into Stark Tower. The Hulk will be able to access it from outside but not leave once he enters. If Bruce feels a bit green he can go to it to keep everyone safe. We know enough that he will insist on going there on his own.”

“But how will I know that he will even stay close enough to get to the room in time?” The President looked at each of the Avengers for a moment. Finally it was Pepper that responded. 

“Let us buy him. If he hurts anything it will be on Stark Industries...”

“No,” Tony interrupted. “Let me buy him. I will personally vouch for the cities safety.”

The President thought for a few moments while Pepper and Tony argued. “I think I may have the solution. I will sell him to you but he will be entered into the permanent slave database. You will need to keep a close eye on him and any damage he does will be out of your pocket.”

“No,” whispered Clint. Then he spoke up a bit louder. “He has done nothing to deserve that. He deserves true freedom. He is a hero. He saved lives as both a doctor and the Hulk. Taking away a good chunk of his rights is just wrong!”

Everyone else voiced their agreement until the President held up a hand to quiet them. He had noticed the collar under Clint's suit and he didn’t get his position by being stupid. 

“Tell you what, you get the people off my case and I will sign an order stating that Dr. Banner will be freeable after two years of no damage from the Hulk.”

“Except for Avenger business,” added Steve. “I saw the damage he did to the city during the attack and he cannot be expected to perform his best if he is worried about every little dent he causes. He would be useless to us.”

The President frowned at the captain but agreed.

The Avengers talked with the President for a while longer and then he dictated the order. When it was looked over by legal and sent back to him he allowed the press to come into his office and videotape him signing and sealing it while he was surrounded by the Avengers. 

Tony wrote a check right away for the rights to his friend. He was told that it could take up to a week for the rest of the paperwork to be filled but he would have possession of his new slave by the end of the week.

When the Avengers left they had been happier than most of them ever remember feeling. Clint even managed to smile a bit before he remembered his loss and felt even worse for not being able to feel truly happy for his friends new chance at life.

XXX

Agent Elena Draggurd was looking over the casualty list from the Helicarrier for the tenth time that day. There was something that just didn’t add up. The number of people just seemed wrong to her. She was just supposed to make sure that the bodies were properly transported to their respected families but she had the nagging feeling that she was missing something important.

Suddenly she grabbed the list of names and scanned it. When she came to Coulson’s name she moved to the list of bodies that had been transported off of the Helicarrier. His name was no where to be seen. She then moved to the list of people who were currently in in the med bay. The number of names didn’t add up. She knew that all 25 beds in the bay was being used but there was only 24 names listed. 

Okay. She was pretty sure who was in the last bed but she needed proof. Now how did Clint go through those vents again? She was really starting to wish she had taken up his offer for a tour when they were in training together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Elana Draggurd is Clint's best friend in my first story of the Slavery verse. They saw little of each other after they were assigned to different handlers and therefore different jobs but I like to think they kept in touch. She tends to notice things that other people either miss or don't care about.


	7. Of course he is alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Phil come home.

Agent Elena Draggurd winced as she banged her knees against the sides of the vents again. She had no idea how Barton did it. She was sure that she was making enough of a racket to bring all of SHIELD down on her. She was honestly curious as to why she hadn’t been caught yet. A few wrong turns had turned her short trip into a two hour excursion. She was almost sure that she was getting close to medical but at this point she would just settle for a safe place to exit and try again later.

The beeping of the monitors told her that she had finally found what she had been looking for. She slid down the air duct until she got to a room that was being guarded. She looked out through vent and nodded. Yep. She knew he wasn’t dead. Now to let Clint know before he does something stupid.

XXX

Bruce was hogtied and blindfolded. The MPs had taken him off the army road about a mile and then dumped him hard in the sand next to the road. He struggled for a moment before a he gave up. He was just tied too well and the collar was keeping him from Hulking out. He wasn’t sure if he was there for hours or just minutes but he heard another car come up and park next to him.

“Shit! When they said that they were just going to dump him by the road I didn’t think they meant literally!” The voice sounded familiar. It took Bruce a few minutes to realize that it was Tony. Tony made quick work of the ropes and blindfold. He helped Bruce walk to the car since his legs were still waking up.

“You okay buddy?” Tony asked.

“Yeah. What’s going on?” Bruce was looking around confused. He never thought he would ever leave his little cave/room again.

“They tell you anything?”

Bruce just shook his head.

“Well the President signed an order allowing me to buy you buddy. You’re mine now and with good behavior I will be able to free you in just two years.” Tony’s smile actually glinted in the sunlight. Bruce was so startled by the news that he didn’t react for a while. When he did he felt himself laughing. This was the first truly good news he had in a long long while. The laughing broke down into sobs as he realized that his ordeal might finally be over.

Tony let the man laugh and cry for a while before he handed over a handkerchief. He reached over and disconnected the collar. Bruce tried to protest but Tony insisted that since he was his owner, he could do what he wanted and that consisted of getting rid of of the damn thing. Tony then drove them both to the airport.

XXX

Bruce was very relieved when they finally entered the tower. He hated the plain ride to New York and spent most of it meditating so that he wouldn’t Hulk out and kill everyone. The limo ride back to the tower wasn’t any more peaceful. 

Tony got more and more excited as they went up the elevator. They stopped at a floor that Bruce had never been in before. “I got you something.” Tony said smiling as he ushered Bruce out of the elevator.

They walked down a short hallway to a very thick door set into an even thicker steal wall. The room they entered was huge. It took up two entire floors of the tower. The floor, walls and ceiling were all steal. Tony talked excitingly about it.

“Okay, it really isn’t for you but I thought the other guy would love it. See this,” Tony pointed to a giant bean bag. There was a giant television set into the wall. “That tv is protected by bulletproof glass and will play anything the Hu... er other guy wants. Right now I have it set up to play My Little Ponies when he comes in because who doesn’t like that show?”

Tony grabbed Bruce by the arm. “And over here I have some of my old equipment that he can smash til his heart is content. If he likes it we can get him larger stuff like cars in here. And over here” Tony dragged Bruce over to another part of the room “we have art supplies sized just for him.” There was a steel table piled high with large pieces of paper and crayons as big as Bruce's arm. 

Finally Tony dragged Bruce over to a very large set of double doors. They opened at his command to show a large deck overlooking the city. The deck jutted out from the building and there were large steal poles set into the wall going up and down the entire building.

“Figured the other guy could use these to get in here. I’m also having steel poles put into various buildings around town so that he can grab those instead of destroying the concrete walls. These doors open automatically with his roar. You think he will like it?” Tony suddenly looked uncertain towards Bruce.

“I... I am not sure. He’s never had a place of his own before.” Bruce said but could feel a growing sense of warmth in his body. His eyes stopped focusing for a moment.

‘Hulk like’

‘Really? You would be willing to come here if you accidently came out?”

‘If safe place to play, Hulk come out more?’

‘Ummm, sure.’

‘Now?’

Tony jumped back as Bruce’s eyes turned green. It took another few seconds and the Hulk was looking around his new room. He was giddy as the tv turned on and he ran over and dragged the table towards the other side of the room so that he could color while he watched My Little Ponies.

Tony walked in slowly and smiled as the Hulk started to draw a flower. “Do you need anything?”

“Hulk always wondered what pizza tasted like?” 

Tony chuckled. “Sure thing, Big Guy. I’ll have a couple of extra larges sent up immediately.”

XXX

A few hours later Bruce came wandering up to the main living room. He was wearing a new pair of jeans and a t-shirt that said “I hate Anger Management” on it. 

“I see you found the drawer with your clothes,” Tony said smiling at his friend.

“Yeah. Thanks,” Bruce said as he ran a hand through his hair and looked down. He then rubbed his chest a moment before saying, “How much did you let him eat? Feel like my stomachs on fire.”

“Oh, didn't think about that. So food doesn’t shrink down with you.”

“My metabolism is pretty high but by the feel of it he had a bit more than what I can handle.” Bruce said then thanked a little robot that came over with a bottle of Tums. 

“Okay. Well I still have your room exactly as you left it. Just let JARVIS know what type of pictures you want for the walls. I may even have a Picasso stored somewhere I don’t need. Tomorrow I’ll take you down to candyland and get your own passcode so you can play whenever you want.” Tony rambled on as he put his arm around the shorter man and walked with him to his room. 

XXX

The two scientists were in Tonys lab creating new and exciting things when JARVIS interrupted. “Sirs, there seems to be a Miss Draggurd asking for permission to enter the premises.”

Tony looked at the camera set in the far wall. “JARVIS, you know I don’t allow reporters into my home.”

“She claims to be a friend of Mr. Barton’s and since he is not here, I thought you should know that she is very insistent and refuses to leave until someone sees her. I have already let her wait the required two hours before bothering you.”

Tony sighed and looked at Bruce. He waved his hands for the other man to carry on and went to the elevator. On the way down he straightened his clothes a bit but there was no way to clean up so he just decided to let her see him as he was. Grease stains and all. 

As the elevator doors opened a young woman Clint’s age stood up. She was wearing jeans and a tight white t-shirt. She looked worried and kept glancing around at the exits and looking at people like they could be threats.

“Mr. Stark, I need to talk to Clint.” She said in a nice alto.

“He’s not here right now. I think SHIELD is sending him on a wild goose chase in Africa to keep him busy while Coulson’s estate is settled.”

“Settled?” she exclaimed. “But he might still live.” She then realized what she said and clasped her mouth over her head. “I am so dead.”

Tony’s eyes went up and he ushered her into the elevator before anyone else overheard. He motioned for her to stay quiet until they reached his lab. He ushered her in and had her sit down on the couch he kept for Steve who was sitting there drawing. Bruce came over curiously and sat on the other side of her while Tony shouted at JARVIS to monitor the young lady.

“Now start talking but keep it slow. I don’t want to miss anything.” Tony said.

“I am Agent Elena Draggurd. A friend of Clint’s. We trained together. I heard through the rumor mill that he was shacking up with Agent Coulson. I at least knew that they lived together. I was upset to find him on the list of dead from the attack a few months ago but when I double checked to make sure that his body was sent to his family I couldn’t find any record. When I checked the list of those still injured from the attack I found one more bed being used than was necessary. I decided to find out for myself. Those air ducts are impossible to get through. I have no idea how the man does it but I finally found the infirmary. Coulson is alive. This was a week ago. His heart stopped while I was watching but the doctors managed to get it going again. From what I overheard, this has happened a few times before. They seem to have him in an induced coma and on a ventilator until he heals enough to breathe on his own.”

Agent Draggurd then took in a deep breath. She had gotten everything out so fast that she wasn’t even sure if they understood her but she had never gone behind Fury's back before. She has helped question terrorists without blinking an eye but the thought of that man being angry at her has her almost hyperventilating. 

Bruce had gotten up and disappeared for a minute. When he came back he handed her a bottle of water and helped her to regulate her breathing. Steve was rubbing her back. Tony was pacing while swearing at JARVIS to get all surveillance videos from the Helicarriers infirmary and to find a way to contact Clint.

Steve looked into her eyes. “Are you absolutely sure. I’m not sure that Clint would survive another heartbreak.”

“I cannot guarantee that he is fine but as of last week he was alive.” She looked into his eyes and blinked away her tears. “Oh, crap. I shouldn’t be here.”

Tony leaned down towards her, “Why did you take so long to come here?”

She looked him in the eye and very seriously said, “You think it is easy getting off of the Helicarrier without bringing up suspicion? I had to wait for my rotation to be over.”

“Excuse me, sirs,” JARVIS interrupted. “I think I have found what you asked.” The one computer screen turned into a view of a hospital room. There was a man hooked up to various machines who was clearly unconscious. The angle and oxygen tube made it difficult to tell who it was but it could very well be Coulson.

“That’s him,” Agent Draggurd breathed out a sigh of relief. She had been so worried that he had died before she could get there.

Tony starting typing maniacally on his StarkTab. “We need to get ahold of Clint. Anyone have his or Natasha’s number?”

XXX

Clint was crouched down in his perch. His mark had been enjoying a shopping trip with two of his wives and seven of his children. They were laughing and acting like they were the happiest family in the world. Clint looked at the man and almost didn’t see him as the person who was working on creating a virus that would attack and possibly kill those of Northern European decent and leave others with just a bad case of influenza. Clint didn’t understand the science. He just understood the flight velocity of his arrow as the man crumbled in the alley way he entered to answer a phone call away from his family. 

The assassin quickly left the rooftop and went to the safe house. He phoned SHIELD to inform them of the successful hit after the usual sweep for bugs and threats. His chest tightened as he remembered going through these motions many times with Phil. He twisted his collar a bit as he tried to calm down. He was just about to sit down with an MRE when he heard a whirring and thunk outside the small building. He peaked through the window to see Iron Man walking towards him. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Clint yelled as he ran out of the building. “You just completely destroyed any chance of this safe house being used again.”

The visor came up on the helmet showing a very excited Tony. “Clint I couldn’t tell you over the phone...”

“What!” Clint’s heart sunk. Was Natasha okay? 

“He’s alive.” Tony said while grabbing Clint's arms. Clint opened his mouth and closed it again. 

“What?” Clint felt his legs get weak. His brain was not understanding what was going on.

“Coulson. We have proof that Coulson is alive. Here.” Tony took off his helmet and put it on Clint’s head. He told JARVIS to allow Clint to view the screen. When the electronics had adjusted themselves to a different user he could clearly see a small window in the lower left corner showing Coulson.

Clint sobbed and continued to crumple in Tony's arms. Without JARVIS’s help he had to be extra careful not to crush his friend as he kept him balanced on his feet.

“It is too cold for me to fly you all the way home but I have managed to hire a local helicopter to get you to Paris and my jet will meet us there. I just couldn’t wait a few days for you to get home for the news.”

“He’s still hurt,” Clint whispered. It had been a few months and the man was still hooked up to various machines. “Is he even conscious?” Clint wanted to ask if he was brain dead. It looked that way on the screen. He was terrified of the answer.

“He is in an induced coma. His heart has given out a few times but he has been stable for a few days and this morning the doctors announced that he should make a full recovery. Give or take the use of his arm.”

Clint didn’t want to give up the helmet but agreed so that Tony could fly them to the airport. He needed to get home to his lover as soon as possible.

XXX

“Unidentified quinjet, please identify your purpose for invading our airspace.”

“SHIELD,” Clint responded. “This is Agent Barton and the Avengers requesting permission to land.”

“State business.”

“Need to kick Fury's ass.” Clint responded.

“Request denied.”

“How about you have my owner and if you don't let me land I will personally inform the American Public that you have a war hero held hostage and refuse Captain America a right to visit.”

“Request granted.”

XXX

Fury was waiting for them as they disembarked from Tony’s quinjet. “You are not to make demands before coming onto my ship!”

Clint just walked over to him and punched him. Well, he tried. Fury didn’t get where he was without learning to block a blow. Fury blocked a few more punches before Steve came over and pinned his arms behind his back. Clint then smirked and punched Fury in the working eye.

The group then left the director and headed towards the infirmary. When they got there they found four guards outside of the room they believed Coulson to be in. The guards took one look at the Avengers in full uniform and stepped aside to let them pass. Even without Thor and Natasha, they knew they didn’t have a chance to win that fight. The four men strolled into the room.

Clint ran towards Phil. He grabbed his lovers hands and sat down on the side of the bed. He lowered his head onto Phil's stomach and sobbed. The other three found chairs from various rooms and sat down. They didn’t say anything. They just sat and watched their friend.

XXX

After a few hours the brain monitor started to show activity. Clint jumped up excited when he felt Phil’s hand twitch. When there was no more movement he was disappointed but still hopeful.

XXX

The others eventually left leaving Clint alone with Phil. Agent Barton was yelled at but never physically removed from the premises. The doctors explained to Fury that Phil’s vitals were improving faster under Agent Barton’s touch. Fury also felt guilty for lying to the Avengers and chose to ignore their presence for the time being. He decided to take that time to research the cost of Captain America cards on the internet.

XXX

It took another few days for the drugs to wear off and Coulson to wake up. By then Natasha had heard the news. She walked in and sat calmly down on one of the chairs. Clint could tell by the way her eyes shone and her mouth quirked up that she was actually overjoyed. 

“I see they finally let you take off your collar,” she said after a while.

“Yeah,” Clint rubbed his neck. “They don’t need to track me if my owner doesn’t demand it.”

They sat for a while longer and then Clint felt Phil move. He jumped up to give his lover room as Phil opened his eyes.

“Barton, you’re safe.” Phil said as he smiled and slipped back into sleep.

XXX

It took another five days before Phil could keep his eyes open for more than ten minutes. He was sitting up in bed enjoying a cup of soup when Tony came in.

“Agent! Good to see you,” Tony said as he came close and put his hand on Phil’s shoulder.

Phil wanted to brush the hand off but it hurt to move so he simply smiled a bit before saying, “Yeah. Turns out that I wasn’t as dead as you were lead to believe.”

“So when can you leave? I have this great medical staff at my tower and a room already set up for you.” Tony started moving around the room, poking things.

Clint decided to speak for him, “Phil will be discharged in a couple of weeks.”

“Nope,” said Tony. “Not soon enough. You want to be moved today?”

Phil frowned. “I need my therapy, Stark. I also don't want to chance a problem right now.”

“Okay but there is a room waiting for you at the Tower when you are ready.”

“I’m not moving into the tower.” Phil continued to frown.

“Well,” Tony said. “I would hate for you to have such a long commute since I just talked to Fury and you are the Avengers liaison to SHIELD. As soon as you are able to hold a pen he has a pile of paperwork that I think hits the ceiling with which you can spend many a happy afternoon.”

“I’m not moving, Stark.”

Clint touched his lover’s face to get his full attention. “Honey, we sorta don't have a choice. Your things have already been moved to the tower. I thought you were dead and knew better than to live alone so I let Tasha move me there. I’m sorry. We can get you another apartment if you really hate it but can you just try it for a while? We have our own floor and everything.”

“And how many surveillance cameras have you found?” Phil looked at Clint.

“Fewer than I found at SHIELD,” came the reply.

Phil huffed a bit before saying, “Fine. We can try it for a few months but if there are any pranks or invasions of privacy we will be moving out that day.”

Tony pumped his fist into the air at winning the argument and started typing away on his StarkTab. “Just need to get a few more things ready. I honestly expected you to have a lot more Captain America stuff since you are such a fan.” Clint got a guilty look on his face and stared down at the floor until Phil put his hand on his chin and lifted his head up. “You are worth more to me. Remember that.”

The conversation was completely lost to Tony as he ordered new bedding (with Captain America sheets) and the food that Phil liked for their suite. “Here,” he said leaving the StarkTab behind. “Order anything you want out of these catalogs. JARVIS is monitoring this so feel free to ask him any questions.”

Clint and Phil both looked at Tony and thanked him. After the genius had left, they spent some time just holding each other. They had a pretty good idea that Tony would be visiting a lot over the next few weeks and took advantage of the little alone time the medical area afforded them while they could.

XXX

The party that Tony threw the night that Phil moved in was rather tame. The Avengers and a lot of SHIELD operatives were there. The drinks were flowing but no one was making a fool of themselves. Tony acted disappointed but Pepper kept him occupied enough that he didn’t take that role onto himself. 

Phil was still in a wheel chair. He would be for a few more weeks but he could manage short trips with just a cane. He was talking to Sitwell when the elevator opened and Fury walked out. Beside him was a man who managed to look intimidating next to the taller director. His suit was black and his face was stern. He seemed to be talking to the director but cut it off and walked straight up to Phil.

Phil literally gulped before the man came closer to him. Clint could see that he was a bit nervous or even scared so he moved close to his lover. 

“Boy, looks like you forgot everything I taught you.” The voice was softer than Clint had expected. “Well, got anything to say?”

“Father, this is Clint Barton, my lover. Clint, this is my father. You can call him K.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just couldn't help myself. I love the idea of Phil being Agent K's son. That is for another story though. This one is finished.


End file.
